Date Night

Brian and I have been married for almost six months, and this weekend was the first weekend that I went out without him. It felt so strange not having him with me. On Saturday I went to the park with a girlfriend and her adorable son, and then today I went to coffee with a new girlfriend (don't you just love making new friends?!) and had awesome conversation and awesome cake at the cutest little coffee shop with flowers blooming everywhere.



I know that it's fine and completely normal for couples to do their own things, spending some of their time separately on weekends - but me and Brian have just never done that before. A lot of couples I know have 'date nights', which is great - I think it's so important to make time to focus solely on your spouse and enjoy each other. But honestly, even though we don't call it 'date night', me and B have that every day - because we do almost EVERYTHING together. Of course we have our own interests, like my art, and his gymmingness, but for the most part, everything we do is with each other. Even the everyday mundane turns into a date. Brian usually detests Grocery Shopping, but he wants to spend time with me, so he comes and we end up having a blast. (SIDE NOTE: this might be because our first date before we were even officially 'a couple'' was at a Grocery Store. We were just friends, but had just confessed to having feelings for one another the night before - and he wanted to hang out with me. I had to do my grocery shopping, so he said he would come along. Needless to say, it was a very electrically charged shopping trip!).

Even all our social time with other people has been together. The only time I hang out with people without Brian is when he is at work - but when he isn't at work, I am always with him. I don't know if I should just chalk it down to being newlyweds, or if it's because we had a long-distance relationship for two years, so we still try to soak each other up as much as possible. I love that Brian wants to spend so much time with me, and that he is constantly showing his love and affection for me.



Springtime Swap Update: Hey Swappers! Don't forget that this Wednesday April 1st is the Mail Date for your goodies. I am excited to see what everyone sends. Don't forget to email your partner once you've received your package, that way they will know that it's ok to blog about it because you've seen it already. It would be great if you would also email me the link to your post about it (spotty_zebra@hotmail.com), so then when I have them all, I can put the links to your blogs all up here for everyone to see.

Picnical

It has been the perfect Picnic Weather lately, so it's been my mission to plan a picnic with friends. I am still deciding on the when and the where, but it's definitely something I want to do soon. I love sitting on a nice blanket outside in the sun, eating yummy food. We have a croquet set, so I will probably set that up too. I know one of the things I want to make is my "A" Salad.

The other night we went to a potluck, and everyone had to bring something starting with the letter A. My friend Lauren and I went shopping for ingredients to concoct our A-themed dishes. I ended up with Apples, Arugula and Almonds as my A ingredients. Lauren had the great idea to bread some chicken strips with the almond, and it turned out soooo good. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a whirl.

Ingredients:
-Arugula/Spinach mix (the Spinach cuts through the spicy flavor of the Arugula)
-Two types of Apples (i used Granny Smith and Gala)
-Almonds
-Chicken Breast
-Lemon Juice
-Breadcrumbs
-1 Egg
-Golden Raisins
-Rosemary Lemon Dressing (if you don't have it - just mix plain yogurt with lemon juice, honey, olive oil, white pepper, rosemary and a bit of salt)

Directions:
-Put the almonds in a ziplock bag and pound it until it's tiny little granules. Mix with breadcrumbs at ratio of 1:2 (almonds being the most)
-Whisk egg with some drops of lemon juice
-Cut chicken breast into strips and then dip pieces into the egg mix
-Then cover the now egg-sticky chicken strips into your almond-breadcrumb mix
-Pan fry chicken until cooked
-Mix everything in a salad bowl and only add the apple (thinly sliced) a few minutes before serving (since the apple tends to brown)
*if you need to put in the apple straight away, dip it in lemon juice, it slows down the browning.



What food do you like to bring on picnics? Any suggestions?
And I wouldn't mind having Jessica's lovely illustration as a picnic blanket design!

Big World

We live in a big world. There are things going on in other countries that I can't even imagine - it seems like a whole other world... but nope, their suffering is going on in the same world as ours. This planet is just so diverse, and so vast - with so many different people, cultures, climates and landscapes. The thought of all these different things going on so far away seems unreal. Like a novel. A novel about another world, another reality. It doesn't really seem like our neighbor's reality, does it?

I like how blogging makes the world shrink. It brings people's issues from all over the world directly to us from their perspective, instead of some stoic newscaster who is reading from a teleprompt. What our blog friends are sharing might not seem 'newsworthy', their stories may or may not seem big enough to frontline on CNN, but they are real windows into real lives, and I love that about blogging.

Some of you who read my blog are friends from everyday life (like Eric, Maggi, Andrew, Sabrina, Ashley, and of course my husbo Brian), and the rest of you are people that I probably wouldn't have met in everyday life, it's blogging that introduced us. I would like to shrink our world a little more and find out more about you. Laura posted some questions on her blog the other day, and here are my answers to them. I would love it if you would comment back with your answers! And for you peeps that I love from everyday life - I am sure there's stuff I don't know about you, so you can play along!

1. What gets you out of bed in the morning? Brian wakes me up every weekday at 7am before he leaves for work. We pray together, and then I give him a kiss and see him off. It's the best start to the day that I can think of!

2. What scares you, and how often do you think about it? Losing a loved one. I don't think about it often, but when I do, it scares me.

3. How important is making a home to you? For example, do you like a home to meditate in, cook good food in, or have people over? As I have blogged before, I was raised in a very hospitable family. My parents are eternal hosts, always entertaining, and welcoming. I have definitely gotten that from them - it is very important to me that my home be comfortable not only to us, but to those that we love.

4. Where in the world would you like to travel next? Either Korea or Italy. Brian is half Korean, so I would love to go there to explore that side of his heritage, and I love Korean food! The Korean culture is so different from that of the Western world, I am always fascinated by other cultures. Italy is also on my wish-list. My Dad is Italian, and I would love to meet his side of the family, and see the beautiful scenery.

5. What is one of your fondest childhood memories? When we were all still living at home back in Australia, we would go on family outings. My Dad and my brother love watching planes, so on one of our outings we went to the airport. It was a pretty airport with greenery everywhere, so we set up a picnic at the airport and watched all the planes coming in and going out.

6. How do you like to spend your weekends? Of course with Brian. I love trying out new cafes and new restaurants that I have never been to before. Below are pics that I took at two of my favorites.

I can't wait to read all your answers!

And I was featured on the Glamour website the other day - check it out here!

My Heart

There are a lot of things that I appreciate in life, and a lot of things that I mention that I 'love', like chocolate and art and the rest of my long list of things that make me excited. But the main things that my heart beats for are God, my husband, my family and my friends. Everything else fades to nothing without them. But something else that is really dear to my heart are people with Downs Syndrome.




Yesterday was World Downs Syndrome Day. Brian and I volunteered at the Houston Downs Syndrome Association's event to celebrate this special day. There was a talent show, tug-of-war, sack races, kite-flying (i have never flown a kite before, but it's sooo on my to-do list), a 'Fifty Butterfly Release', bubble blowing, and many other events for children with Downs Syndrome to have fun with their friends and family.

I can't help but get emotional whenever I see people with Downs Syndrome. My heart swells up with happiness, and I just want to hug them. For those of you who don't know - my younger brother has DS (more about him here), and he is back in California, and I miss him like crazy. He calls me every day when he gets home from school. He's going to be graduating from high school in June, but it seems like not long ago when I used to take him to playgrounds, and we'd play games like the ones at yesterday's event, but of course now he's too old for that. Now he's into concerts and football games. But watching all these children at the event this weekend reminded me of Symon. I miss that boy!



Aside from family and friends, what is something else that holds a special place in your heart?

Battle of the Bries

What do you do when your husband wakes up feeling sick, calls work to say he's not coming in, and then goes back to sleep for 5 hours, and then wakes up and is feeling 70% better (note that it wasn't 100%, because if that was the case - OF COURSE he'd be going back to work)?
Shop together for Brie, of course!




I love cheese. The three C's of Dionne are Chocolate, Coffee, and Cheese. So basically, cheese is one of my three food groups. And one of the many cheeses that I loooove is a lovely, decorated Brie. Some are fruity, some nutty, some even chocolatey. Above are some of the pretty things we had to choose from yesterday at the store. Yes, they look like cakes, and yes, Brian has mistaken them for cheesecakes before (and in the past has totally taken a big slice of one and bitten into it, and even though brie is yummy, when you are expecting cheesecake, it's a shock!). I had such a hard time choosing between all of them, and in the end we decided on a Sundried Tomato Pesto Torte. Yummo!

When most people think of cheese, they think of wine.
I don't like wine.
I have tried and tried and tried to like it. When I was designing a wine label for a client, I went to this wine bar with my friends Eric and Heather, and we tasted a whole assortment of wines, but still - no good. I was telling Eric that out of all the wines that I have liked in the past, I have only liked them because they were the least revolting out of a whole bunch of gross wines.



Do you like cheese? Or wine? Or both? Or neither?

(A blog that makes me smile that is definitely a sweet little place - Jo's blog).

Flowers and Pairs

I love getting flowers.




They are such a lovely treat. How can you not love that combination of the beautiful petals, the lovely scent, and the fact that you can only have it for a fleeting moment? A lot of people don't like getting flowers for that very reason - they wilt and die. That's what I like about them. I like the fact that I get to have them and appreciate them for a short amount of time. Part of their beauty is their fragility.

OK, now for what I am sure you've all been waiting for.... drumroll please!

The pairs for the Springtime Swap!


Before i list them all, I just wanted to remind everyone that your packages need to be postmarked by April 1st, that way each person in the pair should get their packages within the same time. Please also email your partner when you receive your package. When you see who your partner is, I have linked to their blog, so you can just pop over and exchange emails, etc, and it's up to you if you want your swap to be a surprise, or if you want to talk about what you want to send each other. But if you do decide to keep it a surprise, please don't post about what you are sending until AFTER your partner has emailed you letting you know they received their parcel. I can't wait to see all your posts about what you give/get!

Here are the 13 pairs of swappers:

1. Lisa & Sarah
2. Pamela & Anna
3. Christine & Cee
4. Dionne & Tiffany
5. Lindsey & Stacey
6. Joy & Jo
7. Kimberly & Mummekkan
8. Tina & Maki
9. Tammy & Jeanie
10. Kris & Mary Ann
11. Bryan & Sabrina
12. Maggi & Carlita
13. Mo & Sweta

Food with Friends

A large chunk of my social life revolves around food. Whether it be going out to eat with friends, or hosting a dinner party - food is usually somewhere in the picture. I think I get that from my parents. My mum is Filipino and my Dad Italian - both of these cultures are full of Grandma's who don't stop feeding you, and Mothers who are constantly hosting dinners for armies of people. Growing up, my parents' place was like a restaurant - they were always having people over to share a good meal. My friends always loved visiting, I think they were more excited about my mum's cooking than my company! Even now that I am 28, most of my friends know my parents, because Mum always has them over for dinner parties or BBQ's (sometimes even when I am not there!). And having parents from two different cultures has really helped me to appreciate cuisine from all different cultures, so I am constantly trying to investigate new little places to go out for dinner.



Like my mum, I enjoy cooking for the people I love. Experimenting with new concoctions excites me, and I love testing out new recipes on Brian. But Brian is an easy guinea-pig, because before marrying me, he would just eat unseasoned chicken fillets that he'd zapped in the microwave. Basically everything I cook for him, he thinks is a culinary masterpiece, but I know that it's nothing compared to my mum's cooking.

My recent concoction was just a little snack - hummus and flat bread. I have never made either of them before, so I wanted to start off by using a recipe, but next time I will be more adventurous and add my own little touches. Of course Brian loved it, it wasn't microwaved chicken! I definitely recommend trying these out, the hummus recipe is really quick, but the flat bread recipe takes a little longer, but is soooo worth it!



Springtime Swap Update: Signups close tomorrow (Monday) night. If you want to take part and haven't signed up, please sign up by commenting on this post. If you mentioned your interest on another post, please be sure to comment on this one, because this is the post where I have listed all the rules, and I want to make sure that you have read them all before signing up. So unless you have emailed me, or commented on this post that you want to be in the swap (some people have commented on the post, but haven't specifically said they want to be in it), unfortunately I won't be sure that you want to be in it, and therefore won't include you in the swap. So please make sure that not only have you commented on the right post, but that you've said that you want to be in it. I will be posting up all the pairs on Tuesday. This is going to be so much fun!

Salt Air

When you live by the beach, the air has a tanginess to it. You lick your lips, and you can taste the salt air against your mouth. While walking along the sand, you feel the little granules rubbing between your toes. And at little local beaches, you'll notice that some of the less-maintained buildings by the shore have worn edges, slightly decaying like a beautiful flower. Plenty of white-washed colors everywhere. I am amazed by God's artistry.

Where I used to live, a town called Noosa in Australia, a lot of the beaches are sublime, a brightly-colored paradise. Gorgeous, but all slick and glossy for tourists. But then there are the hidden spots that only the locals know about; no flashy hotels in sight, just humble beach houses that look like little paint pots of pastel loveliness. I have a special place in my heart for the beach because Brian and I met at Laguna Beach in California.

People like beaches for different reasons. Some like it as a place to lie on a towel and soak in the sun, and hopefully get a suntan without getting badly burned. Others like it for the cool depths of the ocean. Families like it so they can watch their children build lopsided sandcastles, and squeal as the water chases their toes.



Personally, I like it for the scenery. While I do love playing in the water, I could visit the beach and not even get my feet wet and still love it. If you haven't figured out by now, I love taking photos. I promise you that the beach has a personality that you will find nowhere else.



(Springtime Swap signups are still open until Monday. Go here to see the rules and sign up on that post if you haven't).

And thanks for the blog love Maggi, Lindsey and Maegan! And also to Erin for emailing me to let me know that the ring I like is up for grabs on the Bright Side Project!

Springtime Swap

Flowers, Bees, Pink, Easter... all of these are symbols of Spring to me. I imagine pretty dresses, and riding around town on a bicycle with a basket attached to the front, and pushing a dainty little bell. In actuality, I haven't ridden a bike (excluding a two-person bike) since I was ten years old. I am hoping to remedy that this season. I love the sounds of Spring, just as much as the sights. The laughter of children playing in the park, and the sonnet of birds up in the trees. I would have to say that Birds are the first thing I think of when it comes to Spring. I love taking pictures of their silhouettes against the sky.



I have always lived in places where Spring isn't really a defined season. So those things that I love about Spring can pretty much be heard or seen any time throughout the year in the places I've lived. All the icons of Spring that I picture are only there because that's how I know it is in other places. For me, Spring kind of just melds into the other seasons, just because the places I have lived have all had temperate weather. For instance, this winter, my friends in Iowa were telling me all about the major snow they'd seen, and how freezing the weather has been. That same day in Houston, I was wearing shorts! So since there are no major climate or weather pinpoints that indicate to me when Spring starts - my Springtime this year is going to be commemorated by the Springtime Swap!



Springtime Swap Info:

1. We will be swapping a small collection of lovely little things that we have either made, or purchased from a local store. It's up to you what you send, but please don't send anything perishable. I would also rather no-one send anything possibly breakable, unless they are SURE they can package it really well.

2. I don't want to leave anyone out who would like to participate, so I want to have this open to international readers too, not just people from the US. And I think it's a lot more fun that way too - if you get paired with someone from overseas, you will get a fun insight into their culture. If there are any of you in the US who would like to participate, but really don't want to swap with someone overseas because of mailing costs, please email me at spotty_zebra@hotmail.com, otherwise I will assume that everyone is ok with having an international partner if they get paired that way.

3. The total price of the items should be $15 US (or your currency equivalent if you aren't in the US). If you wish to spend more than that, it's up to you, but please be aware that you can't be upset if your partner only spends $15 - that's the set price.

4. I realize that there are some of you who might comment who don't want to take part - so if you do want to participate, please make sure to include in your comment that you are wanting to be in the swap.

5. The deadline for swap sign-ups is Monday, March 16. On Tuesday the 17th, I will announce the partners. They will be randomly selected through random.org.

6. After the pairs are announced, it's up to you to comment on each others blogs to swap email addresses and mailing information. You could also let each other know if there's anything unusual you might need to share (eg. allergic to felt, or whatever). I am setting a MAIL BY DATE, so that no one has to wait months to get their goodies, and so that each person in the pair gets their stuff sent out at the same time. The MAIL BY DATE is WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1. That gives us all 2 weeks to organize our goodies.

7. It would be REALLY great if you'd post about what you received. I will be interested to see what everyone gets. I will post links to everyone's posts about their received swap once they have all been received.

I can't wait!

Colors and Fun

I love circuses, zoos, carnivals, playgrounds... I'm a kid at heart. I love all the colors and excited children. I can never go without being armed with a camera.

This weekend Brian and I popped over to Kemah Boardwalk - it's a cute boardwalk dotted with restaurants, carnival rides and games. It was severely damaged during Hurricane Ike, and this was the first time we have been back since it was repaired. We were there for a fundraising benefit for the Beach Family. This amazing family has 13 children, five of which are adopted, and five of their children have special needs. Like Kemah Boardwalk, their home was pretty much destroyed, and so a fundraiser was held there to raise money for this amazing family.



There were clowns and bubbles and cotton candy. So much eye candy for me to take in. Brian and I gorged ourselves on food, it was all-you-can-eat sandwiches, tacos, hotdogs, chili, popcorn, brownies, cotton candy and cookies - and since it was for a good cause, we made the most of it, hehehehe. The only complaint I had was that it was sooo hot. Stinkin' hot! To get in, we had heart hand stamps, and since it was so hot, it sweated right off me! Ewwww!



Springtime Swap update: I am still planning out the logistics on this. I will have it all sorted out by my next post and give you all the details then, so you can decide if you want to take part. If you don't know what I am talking about, check it out here.

Texas and Mail

Before moving to California from Australia, I had the idea that Californians would look like either the characters on Baywatch, or like a decorated rap singer, covered in sparkly gold chains. After living in CA for 7 years, I saw that this was DEFINITELY not the case, and laughed at how stereotyped Cali is.

A little less than 5 months ago, I moved to Texas to be with my lovely husbo. Again, I had preconceptions of what it would be like. Before he moved to Texas for work (he moved here 2 years before we got married), we talked about what we expected it would be like. We imagined dusty streets, with tumbleweed blowing about. I pictured saloons and cowboy-hatted folk who wore boots that jingled when they walked. Of course, now that I actually live in Houston, I can see that it's not that way at all (at least for Houston). The other day I spotted my first Texas stereotype confirmed:


Hehehehe, I just had to get a photo of it.

Steering to a new topic here -
My local post office has a criminal in their midst. I was there on Monday and overheard two postal workers talking. Apparently a woman came in on Saturday and left behind an Omaha Steaks gift card by accident. She called to tell them she had left it, but the post office staff couldn't find anything. Then on the next business day (Monday, the day i was there), the Omaha Steaks store nearby confirmed that someone spent it Saturday night, and that it was a post office employee (they had on their uniform!) - how scandalous!

I am pretty sure we all love mail, right? Last night I had an idea to do a SPRINGTIME SWAP. I was thinking that whoever wanted to participate (including myself) would put together a little package of small things (either things we've handmade, or cute postcards from our local store, or lovely embroidered handkercheifs, whatever) and exchange them with one another. I could partner us all up, and then we'd have a set time we'd have to mail it to our partner by. To make things fair, I would set a price range, I wouldn't want someone sending a package worth $50 and then their partner only sending something worth $2. I think $15 (US dollars, or the international equivalent in each country) would be a good price. Anyway, let me know if this is something you might be interested in. You don't have to commit to anything now, I just want to hear who would maybe be interested in participating.


The winner of my Present Giveaway is Kotori. Yay Kotori! But for the rest of you who didn't win, you should join the swap! Everyone wins in that!

Little Details

I am a details gal. To me, it's all about the details.

When Brian comes home from work and we talk about his day, he gives me a brief summary of how it went. He will tell me the general mood, and who the main "characters" were in his story of the day, but I always press him for more details ("what did he say?", "how did he say it?", "where were you when this happened?"). Descriptions and adjectives are important to me. This applies not only in conversation, but in what I do.

When I make myself a hot chocolate or a coffee at home, I just don't brew the coffee and tip it in a cup, add the creamer and stir. No. I like to drink with little details that make it seem more like a special treat. When we have some in the fridge, I like to add a dollop of whipped cream to the top, and then sprinkle it with a little cocoa, or cinnamon. It's these little garnishes that make it interesting. Last week I found a great recipe for Blueberry Yogurt Cupcakes, posted by Lily Annette, and I LOVED the recipe, because it had little details in it. After making the cupcakes, she says to cut them in half and fill the middle with whipped cream and more berries. Since I always seem to use blueberries these days, I used Blackberries and Strawberries in mine, and it tasted sooooo good. I highly recommend making these!



My love for little details also crosses over to the way I work. I am very systematic and like to document things, and have a pattern or routine in how I get things done. Before I moved to Texas, I was a Project Coordinator, and a major part of my job was being highly detail-oriented, I had to notice the little things that others overlooked, and I thrived in that type of environment. I guess the same thing is going to show in my art for my new store. I wasn't happy with my prints the way they were. I wanted to add some little tiny detail. And I think I found it. I am adding tiny little hand-stiching to each piece.

Here's a sample. What do you think? It might be hard to tell in this pic, but the little dashes are hand-stitched.




For those of you who haven't heard, I am giving one of you a little present at the end of the week. See the post here, and tell me what was your favorite gift received and your favorite given. I have been loving everybody's stories so far. Gifts in a way are little details. It's like an extension of showing your love for someone. It's kind of like when I give Brian a hug and a kiss, I show him I love him; but sometimes I like to punctuate it with a little detail, like bake him a treat, or give him a gift. See? I see the details in EVERYTHING!